Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Woodworking Classes for Kids - NYTimes.com

I made these bookends in 4th grade woodshop and my mother kept them. The colonial ladies were cut with a bandsaw and applied to the wooden backs. I cut the lid from a large can of tomatoes in half and nailed them on the bottom to hold the books in place. In another 100 years they will be folk art.

Rose O’Neal, 11, uses a crosscut saw in a miter box to cut rails for a step stool she is building in a class at the Randall Museum in San Francisco. Woodworking Classes for Kids - NYTimes Teaching children construction is gaining momentum across the country as a way to develop imagination and confidence in the very young. Watch a wonderful slideshow with 15 pictures and captions after you read the article. I am very excited about this new trend. Kids today don't learn enough practical skills to carry them through life and the trials and tribulations of homeownership and homemaking.

I think a carpenter is practically the best thing you can be in life. I took home economics starting in the 4th grade too. I know there were several other girls in my woodshop class but I don't remember any boys in home ec. These classes were in public school and I'm so glad they were offered.

Content in a Cottage

2 comments:

Karen said...

Hi Rosemary,
I truly believe my Home Ec. classes served me well. I learned to cook (granted it was an English muffin pizza, among other things) but that and making a dress gave me confidence I could become a self-sufficient adult one day. I wish we had been offered woodworking...I would love to be able to build something. Thanks for sharing this!
Karen

Bonnie said...

Rosemary...I have often wondered why life skill classes were dropped from curriculum. I think Home Ec. would be more popular than ever now. Think of HGTV and Food Network. I terrorized my Home Ec. teacher, but she taught me more than I think either of us realized. I think she would would be surprised.